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Three physicists who provided insights into how tiny violations in symmetry shape the universe share the Nobel prize in physics. Yoichiro Nambu receives half the award for developing a theory called "spontaneous symmetry breaking", which describes how nature's forces came about after the big bang. The balance of the prize is shared by Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa, who explained how physical laws apply differently to matter and antimatter, and predicted six quarks.

The Hubble Space Telescope has been crippled by an electronics failure, which leaves it largely unable to communicate the results of its observations to Earth. NASA is working to turn on a backup system, but if they fail, the observatory will be hobbled until at least February 2009, the earliest possible servicing date.

Last week's bailout of American banks by the US Congress also included measures to sustain research and development during the economic crisis. The $700 ...

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